Sithembile is a township well known for its love and passion for soccer. It continues to produce a number of young men who have made the jump to the professional football league.
Sandile Dlamini (22) is a striker who earned himself the nickname of Khiya in Glencoe.
He recently signed with Maritzburg United and his dream is to one-day return to Sithembile and ‘give something back’ to the new generation of footballers who will be coming through the ranks.
His journey has not been a smooth ride and he has had to take ‘big chances’ that have bred positive results. With the full support from his mother and closest friends, his dream is becoming a reality.
His friend, and former teammate, Sibusiso Sikhakhane, told him of trials that were taking place in Pietermaritzburg.
They left Glencoe for the city with nowhere to lay their heads and relied on a friend of a friend for a place to stay.
Sandile made it through the trials and was shortlisted. He was later called in for more trials and selected to play for the team.
This all happened while they were off-season and Sandile had just completed his matric and was waiting for replies from various tertiary institutions. “Because it was off season it was only convenient that I take a chance,” Sandile told the Courier.
While growing up he was exposed to different sports at school, yet soccer has always been his first love. At the age of 10 he was already into dribbling and tactics, and played for the local team that was then known as Bolton Wanderers.
Later, he joined Arsenal (the local version) before proceeding to Sithembile United where he played only for two seasons before his breakthrough – playing for the mighty Dundee 11 Experience, now called Dundee Rangers FC. 2010 was a turning point for this young star when he was writing his matric.
At this time he was playing for Sithembile United. He was not only exposed to participating in other tournaments but others also noticed his talent. He was motivated when two local schools asked for his assistance in playing in important tournaments. The first was a school from Msinga, which was, however, disqualified in the quarterfinals as it was discovered that he was a student from another school. “After playing for these schools I realised that I was moving forward with soccer,” explained Sandile.
Later that year, Sandile, after qualifying to represent the Umzinyathi District at the South African Local Government Association, (SALGA), games he was also asked to fill in for a footballer who was injured.
He jumped at the chance and the Umzinyathi team reached the semi-finals.
At that time he was the youngest player in the team. Going back home, he signed with Dundee 11 Experience because: “I realised that if Ronaldo made it to the national team at the age of 17, why could I not?” Sandile had feared that the ‘Dundee 11 Experience’ players were much older than him so when he was first offered to play for the team, he refused.
However, he made his mark and proved that being young is a good thing and in 2013 he became the second leading goal scorer. He is not only focusing on kicking the ball, but he is also studying Sports Management part-time. He said: “A soccer player can only succeed if he is disciplined. As the saying goes, ‘behind a successful man there is a wise woman’, and Sandile’s mother, Sonto Sibisi, is the woman behind him.
